Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it is interesting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here.

For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score stats into a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings.

We have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent?

Top Single Game Scores of the week

#1 – Dimitri George (Quinnipiac) – 9.08 goals added

Feb 29 vs Fairfield Opp ELO: 1371

The game that George had against Fairfield was something else. He scored 2 goals (season high) to go with 25 faceoff wins (season high) and 19 ground balls (season high). Sensing a theme here?

This year, George has grabbed the GB on 55 of his 83 face off wins. That might be a high number; I’m not really sure, but now I want to calculate it for all FOGOs.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

2

0

4 (3)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

19

25

69%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

0

0

#2 – Will Yorke (Bucknell) – 8.37 goals added

Feb 29 vs Marist Opp ELO: 1533

Is Army really good? So what does that mean for Marist? How should we think about Bucknell’s big win over the Red Foxes on Saturday? This part of the season is where early impressions start to give way to data.

What we can say is that Bucknell is 11th in the Lax-ELO ratings and they have the 24th best offense in the country on a per-possession basis. We can also say that Will Yorke has been one of the most productive players in the country so far. He is currently the 3rd ranked offensive performer in our cumulative season-long EGA rankings.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

9

2

15 (10)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

2

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

1

2

#3 – Tre Leclaire (Ohio State) – 7.79 goals added

Mar 1 vs Cornell Opp ELO: 1790

While they didn’t get the win, Ohio State certainly played like a top-10 team against Cornell. And LeClaire’s 8-point game against the Big Red was a big reason why this was such a good game.

This was really the first game this year where LeClaire really imposed his well. His previous high EGA total was 4.93 against Detroit in the season opener. I say that he took over in this game because 5 of his goals were unassisted, compared to just 1 coming into this game.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

6

2

12 (7)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

1

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

3

0

3

#4 – Justin Inacio (Ohio State) – 7.01 goals added

Mar 1 vs Cornell Opp ELO: 1790

Cornell’s offense was on fire against Ohio State (42.5% efficiency). And the Buckeyes turned the ball over 24 times. The final score was 17-16 despite the Buckeyes being fairly well trounced on a per-possession basis.

And that is all thanks to Inacio’s day at the face-off X. He’s the reason that Ohio State had an 11-possession advantage against Cornell and the reason they were in this game at the end. While his cumulative totals rank 40th among all FOGOs thanks to injury, his per-game average is among the tops in the nation.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

0

0

1 (0)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

13

30

81%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

1

0

0

#5 – Logan McGOVERN (Bryant) – 6.78 goals added

Feb 29 vs Manhattan Opp ELO: 1453

Whoa, that came out of nowhere. Logan McGovern has not exactly been a mainstay on this list. In fact, he’s never had a game that’s been recognized in this column. But on Saturday, he nearly doubled his season-long EGA total, putting up a 6.78 mark that landed him in the top 5 for the week.

Now I will grant you the fact that Bryant’s schedule to this point has been extremely challenging, so to some extent this explosion is due to the fact that the opponent was Manhattan.

The interesting stat though is that in this game he had 13% of the Bulldogs’ play shares. His previous high was 9.6% against Providence. So whether he was the focus of the early opponents’ defensive strategy or this was a game where Bryant’s coaching staff let him loose, he did not miss the opportunity.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

5

3

13 (9)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

3

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

0

0

#6 – Will Yorke (Bucknell) – 6.74 goals added

Feb 24 vs Binghamton Opp ELO: 1375

Yorke pulled a neat trick this week, grabbing the #2 and #6 slots on this week’s list. And since we highlighted his season totals above, let’s dig into the downside of Yorke’s season.

In the two games where Bucknell has had their worst offensive performances, Ohio State and Sacred Heart, Yorke has been relatively quiet. Against OSU, he contributed just 3.9% of the Bison’s play shares, compared to 12.9% on the season.

So while he had a great week this week, Yorke and Bucknell still has to prove they can win when the defense is focused on shutting him down.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

4

3

18 (11)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

3

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

0

1

#7 – Sean Goldsmith (Mercer) – 6.64 goals added

Feb 29 vs Wagner Opp ELO: 1180

Thus far, Mercer has been the team who causes you to discount a strong performance by a top-tier team: “Sure they played well, but it was Mercer.”

But now that the Bears took on someone their own size,Goldsmith was able to blow up and have a day. The 10-point effort has got to be one of the highlights for the 2020 Mercer season.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

7

3

15 (11)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

0

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

4

0

0

#8 – Jimmeh Koita (Drexel) – 6.58 goals added

Feb 25 vs Robert Morris Opp ELO: 1607

Vintage FOGO day here. in a game that Drexel won 24 – 12 over Robert Morris. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 15 ground balls and 24 faceoff wins. Given the importance of possession, he’s probably most proud that he had as many turnovers in the game as you did.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Robert Morris was the #2 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

0

0

2 (1)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

15

24

72%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

0

0

0

#9 – Thomas Washington (Marquette) – 6.51 goals added

Feb 29 vs Drexel Opp ELO: 1531

This was a day to take advantage of the defense, and he delivered with 2 goals in a game that Marquette lost 13 – 11 to Drexel. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 12 ground balls and 17 faceoff wins.

Not to diminish this game too much, but with an opponent ELO rating of 1531, it’s not as if this performance came against a world-beater.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

2

0

2 (2)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

12

17

65%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

3

0

1

#10 – Tucker Dordevic (Syracuse) – 6.43 goals added

Feb 28 vs Hobart Opp ELO: 1599

In this one, he scored 5 goals and added 2 assists against Hobart in a game that Syracuse won 21 – 13. He also threw in 1 ground ball for good measure. But perhaps the most impressive thing was accomplishing all of that while committing exactly zero turnovers.

Repeat this against a team stronger than Hobart, and he’ll really get people talking.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

5

2

8 (8)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

1

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

0

0

0

#11 – Michael Sowers (Princeton) – 6.38 goals added

Feb 29 vs Johns Hopkins Opp ELO: 1532

He paced the team with 9 total points (2 goals; 7 assists) against Johns Hopkins, in a game that Princeton won 18 – 11. Add in 5 ground balls and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Johns Hopkins was the #-11 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

2

7

6 (5)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

5

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

0

0

#12 – Dylan Beckwith (Fairfield) – 6.29 goals added

Feb 29 vs Quinnipiac Opp ELO: 1455

On the day, he tallied 4 goals and 3 assists in a game that Fairfield won 19 – 15 over Quinnipiac. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 3 ground balls.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Quinnipiac was the #-24 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

4

3

14 (9)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

3

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

1

0

0

#13 – Kyle Gallagher (Penn) – 6.20 goals added

Feb 29 vs Penn State Opp ELO: 1755

Vintage FOGO day here. against Penn State, in a game that Penn lost 18 – 17. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 14 ground balls and 26 faceoff wins.

Throw in Penn State’s ELO rating of 1755, and these stats take on whole new meaning.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

0

0

0 (0)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

14

26

66%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

2

0

0

#14 – Michael Quinn (Mercer) – 6.19 goals added

Feb 29 vs Wagner Opp ELO: 1180

In this one, he scored 3 goals and added 5 assists against Wagner in a game that Mercer won 20 – 8. Granted, there wasn’t a lot there besides the scoring, but it’s good enough to land a spot on the list since, hey, you win by scoring. But perhaps the most impressive thing was accomplishing all of that while committing exactly zero turnovers.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Wagner was the #-52 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

3

5

6 (4)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

0

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

0

0

1

#15 – Ashton Wood (Mercer) – 6.17 goals added

Feb 29 vs Wagner Opp ELO: 1180

Vintage FOGO day here. against Wagner, in a game that Mercer won 20 – 8. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 13 ground balls and 26 faceoff wins.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Wagner was the #-52 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

0

0

0 (0)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

13

26

83%

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

1

0

0

#16 – Jake Carraway (Georgetown) – 6.07 goals added

Feb 25 vs Mount St Marys Opp ELO: 1446

This was a day to take advantage of the defense, and he delivered with 6 goals against Mount St Marys in a game that Georgetown won 14 – 7. He also threw in 1 ground ball for good measure.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Mount St Marys was the #-28 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

6

0

17 (11)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

1

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

5

0

0

#17 – Kevin Lindley (Loyola MD) – 6.00 goals added

Feb 29 vs Lafayette Opp ELO: 1219

He paced the team with 7 total points (6 goals; 1 assist) in a game that Loyola MD won 14 – 4 over Lafayette. He also threw in 2 ground balls for good measure. But perhaps the most impressive thing was accomplishing all of that while committing exactly zero turnovers.

Not to diminish this game too much, but with an opponent ELO rating of 1219, it’s not as if this performance came against a world-beater.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

6

1

13 (9)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

2

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

0

0

0

#18 – Matt Paul (Dartmouth) – 5.98 goals added

Feb 29 vs Massachusetts-Lowell Opp ELO: 1351

On the day, he tallied 5 goals and 1 assist in a game that Dartmouth won 14 – 5 over Massachusetts-Lowell. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 1 ground ball.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Massachusetts-Lowell was the #-44 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

5

1

10 (5)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

1

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

3

0

0

#19 – Ryan Tierney (Hofstra) – 5.89 goals added

Feb 29 vs LIU Opp ELO: 1435

On the day, he tallied 3 goals and 4 assists in a game that Hofstra won 14 – 6 over LIU. As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget the 4 ground balls.

Repeat this against a team stronger than LIU, and he’ll really get people talking.

Goals

Assists

Shots (OG)

3

4

8 (4)

GBs

FO Won

FO Pct

4

0

N/A

Turnovers

Penalties

Caused TO

1

2

1

#20 – Colin Burke (Utah) – 5.87 goals added

Feb 29 vs Jacksonville Opp ELO: 1563

In this one, he scored 3 goals and added 4 assists against Jacksonville, in a game that Utah won 15 – 11. Add in 1 ground ball and you’ve got a pretty full stat sheet. No trillion-club here.

Now, the obligatory dose of reality: Jacksonville was the #-15 weakest opponent on this list. Factor that in.